Cops in Italy on Monday announced the arrests of 13 people connected to Chinese mafia crews on charges such as drug dealing, sex trafficking, and aggravated robbery following a nationwide sweep amid the gangs’ growing presence in the traditional homeland of organized crime – and where good old fashioned La Cosa Nostra and Ndrangheta are on the wane, Reuters reports.
The numbers don’t lie: In 1991 in Sicily there were at least 253 murders connected to mafia activity, in 2020 there were four of them. Meanwhile these Chinese crews have blasted at least two people in Rome this year alone as part of the “Hanger War,” an internecine turf battle over control of the luxury clothing trade. A direct comparison in illicit revenue within Italy is tough to come by but that the Chinese gangs are estimated to have minted €13 billion across the EU last year vs €10.7 billion for the locals in their country. Either way it’s clear the Temu Don Corleones are kicking serious ass.